A variety of medical devices and medical device systems are implanted within bodies of patients to provide support to portions of the bodies of the patients. For example, some medical device systems are implanted and coupled to backbones or spines of patients and are configured to provide support to the spinal bone structure of the patient. Some medical device systems that are configured to provide support to the spinal bone structure of a patient include support members or rods that extend between various portions of the medical device system. For example, the support members or rods may extend between portions of the medical device system that are coupled to adjacent vertebrae to provide support to the spinal bone structure to promote healing of the bone structures and/or otherwise maintain alignment and spacing of the spinal bone structures.
After implantation, however, the support members or rods of the medical devices or medical device systems may become weakened or break. It then may be necessary to perform an additional medical procedure to replace or repair the broken or weakened support members or rods. Additionally, it may become necessary or desirable to couple various support members or rods together after the implantation of such medical device systems.
Accordingly, there is a need for a coupling device that allows various support members or rods to be coupled together. For example, there is a need for a coupling device that is configured to allow broken or weakened rods to be coupled together. Additionally, there is a need for a coupling device that is configured to allow broken or weakened rods to be coupled together without having to replace the support members or rods or perform a more difficult and time consuming procedure to bend or torque the rods to force the support members or rods to conform to the specific configuration of the coupling device. There is also a need for a coupling device that because of its size and profile avoids excessive tissue damage adjacent the surgical site.